Finding solutions and looking for help for homeless in Lenawee County

Lonnie Huhman Daily Telegram Staff Writer @lenaweehuhman

Sunday

Sep 16, 2018 at 3:00 PM

Why this matters

Homelessness is an issue affecting all parts of Lenawee County and it needs community solutions, which is where Share the Warmth and Neighbors of Hope come in. Both groups are trying to make a difference and both are looking to the community for support.

ADRIAN — When it comes to helping the homeless population in Lenawee County, there’s an anticipation of a new beginning.

One place this new beginning will take root is at the new, permanent shelter being developed by Share the Warmth of Lenawee. On Wednesday, the volunteer committee for Share the Warmth met to discuss the new shelter. Volunteer coordinator for Siena Heights University Tom Puszczewicz mentioned that anticipation of a new beginning in the meeting’s opening prayer.

This beginning is a long time in coming since the all-volunteer group was established more than a decade ago. Helen Henricks, president of Share the Warmth, said the shelter was established in 2005 with a mission “to keep people alive during the coldest months.”

Sister Pat Schnapp, who has been with Share the Warmth since its creation, said, “When Share the Warmth was started, I had no thought of a permanent shelter.

“Those of us involved at the beginning just knew we had a serious problem with homelessness here, and we’d read about men in Adrian dying of exposure during the bitter winter months because they had no place to go,” Schnapps said. “So we determined to keep them out of the cold at least during the worst part of the year.”

Henricks said the usage trends at the shelter have only increased since 2005. In the winter of 2004-05, the shelter saw 10 to 12 individuals that season. In 2015-16 it was up to 61 individuals with a high of 25 individuals on some nights. In 2016-17, that went up to 135 individuals with 35 as a high on some nights, Then in 2017-18, it went up to 143 individuals.

She said shelter guests struggle with a number of life-threatening and limiting issues. In addition, she said they’ve seen mental health and substance abuse issues have increased and are significant challenges for some guests.

In an analysis of 100 guests, Henricks said they found the following details: 45 percent have mental health issues, 47 percent have substance abuse issues, 15 percent have a physical disability and some have a combination of these issues.

For Jenny McCarthy, 46, of Adrian, she simply had nowhere else to go but the shelter. Originally from Florida, McCarthy’s path into homelessness had it’s origins when she was abused as a child, which lasted well into her teenage years. She said she eventually ran away and over time the past abuse she endured hurt her mentally leading her to struggle since.

She said she came to Adrian to live with and help someone who she thought was a friend, who had suffered a stroke. She said that friend soon kicked her out for reasons she didn’t understand, and she found herself without a home during the winter. She slept in her truck for two nights before it was just too cold.

“I never stayed in a shelter,” she said. “I was able to stay with friends or in my vehicle.”

However, being new to Adrian and without much money, she didn’t know where to go for help.

“It’s scary. It’s cold. You don’t know where to turn,” she said and was pointed to the temporary shelter Share the Warmth ran last winter at Bohn Pool.

This summer she slept under a bridge in Adrian, but she’s now in a better place with help from Social Security and has found a place to live. She said she also is getting by doing smaller side jobs.

“To those who don’t think homelessness is an issue in the county, I would simply say, come with me and have supper at Share the Warmth,” Schnapp said. “Seeing is believing, as the old cliche puts it. Many of the volunteers who brought in meals for the first time had quite a revelation and have become some of our staunchest supporters.

“Shakespeare got it right: the quality of mercy blesses both those who give and those who take. And lots of our volunteers have expressed that sentiment in other words. Share the Warmth is the source of many blessings.”

Neighbors of Hope

Another new beginning is happening in Tecumseh, where a shelter for a specific underserved group is being developed.

“We need this center for women and children because it fills a gap in the community whereby this population has no or limited access to other resources,” the Rev. Steven Palmer, executive director of Neighbors of Hope in Adrian, said.

He said this group cannot stay at the Catherine Cobb Safe House in Adrian if there is no history of domestic violence or sexual abuse. They also can’t stay at Share the Warmth if the shelter is housing someone registered for sex offenses and minors can’t be there.

The organization, which has a men’s ministry in Adrian, is working to start up its women’s ministry at the former Herrick Manor nursing home.

Palmer said their project in Tecumseh is moving forward. He said they have received legal paper work, such as a purchase agreement and easement exhibits, from ProMedica and returned them to the Toledo-based health care system that owns Herrick Manor.

“We are now waiting to set a closing date,” Palmer said in an email. “Once we close and have the keys we will begin renovations, which we hope to complete in 60 days or so. So we hope we close soon so this is open for homeless women/children before the weather turns cold.”

Volunteers needed

Henricks said as Share the Warmth looks to get the new shelter at the former Moose Lodge off the ground they continue to look to the community for volunteer help and support, which she said has played a huge part in its mission. She said they expect and plan to have the shelter open by Nov. 1.

“But we need help,” she said. “Our volunteers have always been the backbone and they continue to be, but with being in a larger shelter we need some volunteers to commit to being part of a core team while also having our overall number of volunteers grow.”

She said they are having a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. Oct. 4 to give volunteers and those interested in helping a presentation on the new beginning and a look into the new shelter. She said homelessness is a community issue that needs community solutions.

“I am delighted with the current efforts to establish a year-round shelter for Share the Warmth,” Schnapp said. “The project is well on its way, with the purchase of the Moose Lodge and the support of so many persons and businesses, and certainly the Dominican Sisters. This needed project speaks to the generosity and compassion of this community, and to its understanding of the difficulty people on the margins have to live with dignity and hope.”

Henricks said the end goal is to have the shelter be more than a place for food and a bed, but rather a place for those who want help to get a chance to get back on their feet.

Palmer said both organizations’ efforts as well as all efforts to help the homeless population are important and needed.

“Homelessness continues to affect many in our community,” he said. “The face is different than the stereotype. Many in our community are just one tragedy, one divorce, one foreclosure, one job loss, one health crisis, etc. away from being homeless. Being available to these neighbors of ours and offering resources to help them get back on their feet is critical to our overall community health.”

For Sherrie Clark, 50, of Adrian having Share the Warmth has made a significant impact on her during her days of homelessness.

“The shelter makes you feel like they care, like they are family,” she said.

To learn more about Share the Warmth, go to www.sharethewarmthoflenawee.org or Facebook.com/STWLenawee or call Henricks at 517-203-9857.

To learn about Neighbors of Hope’s project, call 517-265-4019, email info@neighborsofhope.com or go to their website, neighborsofhope.com.

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